40 Fancy Appetizers That Are Secretly Really Easy to Make

• Time Commitment: 2 hours and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, make ahead
• Serves: 6 to 8

Split pea soup may sound old-school and unappetizing, but hear me out. With fresh croutons, a can of your favorite pale lager, sherry vinegar and a ton of bacon, it's far more exciting than what you ate as a kid. "The beer is what gives this soup a well-rounded flavor without a ton of effort on your part," writes former PureWow senior food editor Katherine Gillen, "but if you want to skip it, you can use an equal amount of water or chicken stock instead."

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: vegan, make ahead, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
• Serves: 2

For those who go gaga over any sweet-and-salty appetizer. The caramel isn't as sugary as you might expect, thanks to umami-rich miso paste. "I suggest dissolving the miso in water to mellow its punchiness a bit before adding it to the pot," writes PureWow food editor Taryn Pire, "but you could also just whisk it in straight from the container while the caramel is thickening to keep its flavor intense."

• Time Commitment: 35 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 8

Remember when these tiny tarts took over TikTok in 2023? "My version features a blackberry-Brie combination that’s a little bit sweet, a touch savory and as easy to devour as it is to assemble," explains Gillen. "I highly recommend serving them on the patio with a Hugo spritz for the full effect."

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, no cook, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 4

"Inspired by the flavors of pai huang gua, a Chinese cucumber salad that’s seasoned with rice vinegar, chili oil and soy sauce, this spicy, crunchy sesame cucumber salad recipe is everything I want in a side dish," Gillen asserts. "It’s refreshing, crisp, juicy and savory with just the right amount of heat to bring me back for another bite."

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

If your go-to is store-bought ranch dressing, try this fancy appetizer alternative on for size. "It features a swirl of frizzled carrot and herb-infused oil and chopped pistachios for layers of texture and flavor," Pire explains. "For a thicker yogurt dip with the most pronounced swirl of oil, choose a naturally thick Greek yogurt—such as Fage—or swap in sour cream or labneh."

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: no bake, crowd-pleaser, vegetarian
• Serves: 8

Impress your friends by making your own sushi (well, a simplified version anyway). This vegetarian spin is surprisingly easy to pull off, but feel free to add cooked shrimp or raw, sushi-grade fish to the filling if you're feeling ambitious.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, vegan
• Serves: 6

Want to transform green bean salad into something très chic? Easy. Just call them haricots verts and crown them with preserved lemon-caper dressing. Ta-da.

• Time Commitment: 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
• Serves: 30

Toppings are everything when it comes to this iconic finger food making it a perfect choice for a unique Thanksgiving spread. I'm partial to dried cranberries and roasted almonds atop a layer of crème fraîche, but smoked salmon and whipped cream cheese are tasty too.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
• Serves: 12

The coziest fall soup of all time, wrapped in a blanket of easy store-bought puff pastry. Each bite is packed with the essentials, like buttery sweet onions, beef broth and Gruyère.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: vegetarian, <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 48

Dress up comfort food by serving it in bite-size portions. Feel free to dress the macaroni and cheese up with crumbled bacon, fire-roasted canned tomatoes, greens or Buffalo chicken. (PureWow VP of Editorial Content Candace Davison makes these on the regular and recommends drizzling with hot honey to really take the flavor up a notch.)

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

I know, deep-frying coconut shrimp sounds intimidating. But I promise it’s easier to manage than you think (and so worth the work). Pass the sweet chile sauce, please.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8

Think Hawaiian pizza, only a million times more elegant. Frozen puff pastry allows these spicy pineapple and prosciutto tarts to come together in 30 minutes.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, no cook, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

Any seasonal starter that I don't have to cook is one after my own heart. Heirloom benne seeds gussy up this simple dressing and seasonal salad, starring baby kale, kohlrabi, lettuce and Brussels sprouts.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, vegetarian, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 10

A melon baller is the secret to making Liz Harris’s impressive-looking watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew skewers with mozzarella. Prosciutto, grilled steak, pancetta and pesto would all be tasting pairings as well.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
• Serves: 6

Serve a ramekin of these homemade roasted nuts to give pre-dinner cocktails a five-star touch. The recipe calls for a mix of almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews and pistachios.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 8 to 10

Need to dress up a package of cheese from the grocery store? Top Boursin with caramelized onions and chunks of bacon, then serve it with crackers, bread and crudités for dipping. In the words of Ina Garten, how easy is that?

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 4

Sure, I could share this nine-ingredient dip with my guests...but I just might inhale a batch all by myself instead, thank you very much. Pair it with cucumbers and toasted pita.

• Time Commitment: 15 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, make ahead, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 4

It'll take you 15 minutes tops to assemble this stunning salad. Best part? All the toppings will be easily accessible on the board instead of trapped at the bottom of a bowl. Ingenious.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: no bake, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

The epitome of a fancy appetizer. Pass me a negroni to wash down all the crusty bread, burrata, salami, olives and marinated artichoke hearts.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: vegetarian, <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
• Serves: 2 to 4

You first fell for this briny cheese when you made TikTok's baked feta pasta. Reinvigorate your love for it with this 25-minute recipe that only calls for six ingredients.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, vegan, <10 ingredients
• Serves: 2 to 4

When summer tomatoes are at peak deliciousness, they don't need much zhuzhing. Just use quality sourdough bread and the best balsamic you can find.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser, <30 minutes
• Serves: 4 to 6

Never choose between creamy pasta salad and crisp greens again. Feel free to serve this dish post-summertime, too—the omega-rich avocado Caesar dressing tastes divine year-round.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 4 to 6

How can such a simple side be made to look like a fancy appetizer, you ask? By plating four different varieties of it (sweet potato, crinkle-cut, curly and tater tots) with four equally delicious dipping sauces.

• Time Commitment: 45 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
• Serves: 8 to 10

Each polenta bite is like a crispy corner piece of cornbread. As if that wasn't drool-worthy enough, factor in salty goat cheese and crispy pancetta.

• Time Commitment: 5 minutes
• Why I Love It: no cook, vegan, <30 minutes
• Serves: 6

Guests are arriving in ten and you have nothing to feed them. Before you panic, check your pantry for canned white beans—they're bound to save the day and keep everyone full while you figure out dinner.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 10 to 12

Manchego cheese, Ibérico ham and cured chorizo are expected. But everyone will be especially floored by the heirloom pan con tomate and patatas bravas with saffron aioli, promise.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, vegetarian, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 8 to 10

Sweet and savory with melted cheese? Count me in (and everyone else). Baked Brie is just right for serving at Christmas Eve dinner, even without the winter produce.

• Time Commitment: 23 minutes
• Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, <30 minutes
• Serves: 12

Cheese + meat + carbs = fancy appetizer heaven. The fact that you can have these tasty bites on the table in less than 30 minutes is just a bonus. (Oh, and they're basically picky eater-proof.)

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: vegetarian, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6 to 8

Everyone loves pizza but a slice of 'za doesn’t exactly scream fancy appetizer...unless you zhuzh it up with some fresh greens and a red wine vinegar dressing, that is. It's a stellar match for grilled chicken, or leftover turkey, IMO.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, vegetarian
• Serves: 20

Regular deviled eggs are out—avocado deviled eggs are in. The buttery addition makes the filling that much richer and drool-worthy (as well as verdant).

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: vegetarian, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

Dipping these crispy bites into the spicy yogurt sauce will truly send your dinner guests to flavor heaven (but you can serve them to finnicky eaters with ketchup or honey mustard instead).

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: <500 calories, low carbs, kid-friendly, gluten free
• Serves: 4

Don’t leave your gluten-free friends to snack on olives and nothing else—these wheatless breadsticks are seriously moreish. Even your gluten-loving guests will crave seconds.

• Time Commitment: 30 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <500 calories, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

This Mexican street food-inspired number will impress everyone in your inner circle. Serve the corn with cotija, lime, Tajín and cilantro so your guests can top their own.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour
• Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, low carb, vegetarian
• Serves: 6

The humble artichoke makes its debut as the ultimate hors d'oeuvre. I love how fancy this app looks and how secretly easy it is to make. (Seriously: The recipe calls for six ingredients, including salt and pepper.)

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: vegetarian, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly
• Serves: 12

Because everything tastes better in miniature form—and filled with cheese. Good looking out, store-bought pizza dough. Serve the bites with marinara, pesto or even Alfredo sauce for dipping.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
• Serves: 12

The mini mason jars are so stinkin' cute. As for the ornate pie crust toppers, they're easier to master than you may realize—even if you’re using store-bought pie crust. I won't judge if you eat more than one, promise.

• Time Commitment: 50 minutes
• Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6

Everyone loves lasagna, but a whole tray of the stuff is more "comfort food" than "fancy." Enter these mini cups that are oh-so chic and extra crunchy, thanks to wonton wrappers.

• Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, vegetarian, make ahead
• Serves: 12

Sorry, but I'll never get over garden focaccia. A flourish of edible flowers makes this starter even fancier. Have your camera ready the moment it comes out of the oven.

• Time Commitment: 20 minutes
• Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
• Serves: 8

Ten minutes and a food processor gives you Katie Workman’s herbed mayonnaise, the best base for these savory smoked salmon crostini. I'll be using it on sandwiches and in tuna salad from here on out.

• Time Commitment: 25 minutes
• Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
• Serves: 6 to 8

One crucial rule for making fancy appetizers: They all taste better on a stick. Here, it’s Brussels sprouts, prosciutto and pearl mozzarella. Serve them with balsamic glaze for dipping.